kate mellina / dave christopher

1960s Photo Album

If you’ve followed the story on our blog, you know that a friend gave us a fabulous housewarming gift: a 12-pound photo album from the 1960s, packed with images from nightspots in and around South Philadelphia.

You also know that we’ve been on a grand hunt to identify the hundreds of entertainers, sports figures, business people, politicians and “just plain folks” cavorting on its pages, with the goal of donating them to Temple University’s Urban Archives for safe-keeping.

WHO ARE THEY?

The photos were collected by South Philadelphia newspaper columnist Arthur Tavani, and many are already on our website, along with whatever identifications we have.

Yes, that’s South Philadelphia singer Al Martino second from right, with columnist Art Tavani (far left) and Philadelphia council president Paul D’Ortona (far right). But who’s the man with the flower in his lapel?

Today, we’re publishing a new set of images showing mid-century business owners and government officials from right here in the neighborhood – and we need your help identifying everyone.

Art Tavani shakes hands with local photographer Carl Verna. Mildred Trombetta was the editor and publisher of the South Philadelphia American newspaper, for which Art was a columnist. Louis Esposito (right) still reigns as a second-generation owner of Esposito’s Meats in the Italian Market.

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(Continued from Thursday, May 26. Click here to see Part 1, or here to see Part 2….)

It was 1964, and still-shy Linda Ferrino (now Linda Hoffman) had just been appointed Bobby Rydell’s National Fan Club President.

(Linda Ferrino Hoffman and Bobby Rydell in 2014)

So when Bobby was invited to appear on the nationally syndicated Mike Douglas Show, she did what any responsible chief executive would do: She had her mom call school and say she’d be out sick that day.

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When word got around that South Philadelphia nightclub musician John Valente, Sr. had a local barbershop, visiting stars began dropping in.

(John the Barber, Jr. reflected in a shop mirror below photos of his –and his dad’s – famous customers.)

ALL-STAR ROSTER…

Soon John, Sr. and John, Jr. (who joined his dad full-time after graduating from St. John Newmann High School in 1959) began cutting the hair of South Philadelphia celebrities like singers Bobby Rydell and Al Martino; comedians Guy Marks, Al Fisher and Lou Marks….